A Chinese robot has entered the Guinness World Records after walking 100 kilometers non-stop over three days, covering the longest distance ever traveled on foot by a humanoid machine in the first achievement of its kind. Specifically, the 1.69-meter tall AgiBot A2, standing on two legs, departed on the evening of November 10th from Suzhou city in eastern China, crossing highways and roads to arrive on November 13th at Shanghai’s historic Bund district.
Shanghai-based company AgiBot, which manufactured this bipedal robot, confirmed that the machine “covered various surfaces… always respecting traffic rules” during its continuous 106,286-meter journey. Promotional videos show the black and silver A2 walking slowly but safely along roads to reach Shanghai.
China: Why the AgiBot A2 was invented
It’s worth noting that this A2 robot was designed for tasks such as customer service, equipped with “conversation” functionality and lip-reading capabilities.
Global technology companies are investing massive amounts in so-called physical artificial intelligence, which incorporates the laws of physics and can evolve in the human world. According to Morgan Stanley predictions, by 2050 the world could have more than one billion humanoid robots.
The Chinese government encourages national companies to develop such robots, hoping to become the global leader in this industry.
Beijing hosted the world’s first humanoid robot competitions in August, where more than 500 “athletes” competed in various activities including basketball, dancing, or even hotel room cleaning.
